Perfect Bow Tie Gift

When you get a certain amount of grey in your hair, the excitement of Christmas presents is not nearly that of your childhood dreams. There’s an age where you realize the tangible is temporary. That all things pass and true joy is not in possessions.

And there’s the fact that if you want something, you’ll just buy it your own darn self.

But every so often you get a gift that is so on the nose that you are truly impressed not only with the gift but the giver.

That happened this past Christmas. I’ve written before about how my youngest daughter prodded me into wearing bow ties. That was a great prod as far as prods go. Bow ties have brought me a lot of pleasure. Now oldest daughter continued the bow tie-daughter connection.

She’s a student at the University of Louisville. I’m sure she had the usual trouble trying to come up with a gift for dad but she did manage to knock it out of the park.

It’s a bow tie, of course. But not a traditional gift tie – that is, it’s not boring or garish or pointless.

To begin with, it’s hard to buy ties, which are a near intimate item, for another person. Tie choice says so much about a man and about what that man what’s to say about himself. It’s not to be left in the hands of others. But that’s too often what men do. To their detriment.

Next, it’s not boring. It is discreet and understated but the design does invite people to take a closer look. “What are those?” I was asked by a lady in line at Chipotle. “Oh, one of those French thing-a-ma-bobs,” she said answered her own question before asking for another dollop of guac.

The tie is understated which I prefer in a bow tie. A bow tie is statement enough.

Also, the tie isn’t garish. Too often people go for designs. “Oh, dad is into Star Wars, here’s a Yoda tie,” they think. Or golf, or cars, or a sports team.

They are mostly garish and over-the-top in stating what a man is. And they’re often ugly.

Finally, this tie has a point. The fleur-de-lis is the official symbol of Louisville and it’s university where my daughter studies. Thus, a connection. But it’s not the bright school color red or have a the school’s mascot (a rather angry looking Cardinal) emblazoned across it. Or the anything of the like.

It’s got all the best qualities of a tie…and it was given by a daughter.

Howard has many interests. To learn more visit his blog and check out his books on Amazon.